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In June 1963, a small blurb in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette read that The Westmoreland Engineering Company was awarded a $24,060 bid to study the proposed construction of Interstate 70 in Westmoreland and Washington Counties. The study was to see what the construction and right-of-way costs "...to modernize the existing highway to Interstate requirements within eight months." (1) This small, non-attributed, three paragraph article came less than a decade after the completion of a four lane highway that linked the Mid-Mon
Valley to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. This would be the start of a 15 year process to upgrade and improve Interstate 70 - a process that ultimately never produced a single foot of new highway.

This is
the story, albeit brief, of the I-70 that never came about.

Background:What is now
known as Interstate70 from Washington to New Stanton began as a connecting highway for
the region to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Known as the "Express Highway", construct…

Saw Mill Run Boulevard - Pennsylvania State Route 51 - runs through the narrow
Saw Mill Run Valley. It begins at the intersection of Clairton Road
and Provost Road at the City of Pittsburgh Line with Brentwood. It
ends at the West End Circle at the entrance to the West End Bridge.
A four lane highway for its the entire length, Saw Mill Run Boulevard consists of interchanges
at the South Portal of the Liberty Tubes and with the Parkway West.
It is an expressway from the Parkway to the West End Circle (West End Bypass).
One of the most well known traffic tie-ups in the Pittsburgh area occurs between Maytide
Street and PA 88 (Library Road) which is simply known as 'Maytide and 88.'

History:Saw Mill Run Boulevard was part of the
1928 Allegheny County 'City Beautiful' bond issue. The bonds resulted
in the creation of Saw Mill Run, Ohio River, Allegheny River and Mosside
Boulevards. (1) After the completion of the Liberty Tunnels in 1924,
Downtown Pittsburgh was offic…

The
December 27, 2004 opening of the Wabash Tunnel ended over 70 years of proposals
and speculation for the use of the over 100 year old facility. The
tunnel, which is now a reversible roadway that is an alternative route for
rush hour traffic, saw many failed plans during the 20th Century. These plans included options for mass transit, converted
and new bridges for vehicles, and other forms of transportation.

Brief History:Constructed
in 1902-04, the Wabash Bridge and Tunnel was planned and financed by rail
mogul, Jay Gould. Gould began his "Battle of the Wabash" with the
established railroads of the city in 1890. He would finally emerge
victorious, but during that struggle, Gould would see many setbacks that
would eventually result in the railroad's bankruptcy in 1908. On
October 19, 1903, when the two ends of the bridge were to be joined together
over the Monongahela River, the 109' bridge collapsed; killing ten men.
Construction would resume four days later …